


Prompt: "I Should Have Told You This Earlier. I'm Sorry."

by Lostfadingthoughts



Category: Drarry - Fandom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, draco x harry - Fandom, harry x draco - Fandom
Genre: Drarry, Drarry prompt, M/M, Writing Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-04-21 10:25:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14282901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lostfadingthoughts/pseuds/Lostfadingthoughts
Summary: A short one shot Drarry prompt from Tumblr :3





	Prompt: "I Should Have Told You This Earlier. I'm Sorry."

**Author's Note:**

> Got a prompt idea for Drarry? Send me some in my ask box on Tumblr: https://lost-fading-thoughts.tumblr.com/

**_“I should have told you this earlier. I’m sorry.”_ **

 

Draco stared across at one Mr. Potter, his tea cooling in the cup sitting beneath him on the table between them. It’d been four days of semi-silent meals, only giving way to half awkward exchanges, grumbled answers, and stolen glances when Harry thought Draco wasn’t watching.

He’d noticed it all and after four days it was starting to grate on him. At first he thought Harry just might be going through one of his silent spells but after day two, Draco began to wonder if Harry was just getting tired of him.

Harry was always first to rise in the morning and first to head to bed at night. Beyond the pleasantries of half coherent ‘morning’s and ‘night’s, there wasn’t much else said between the two.

Draco sat back though, tried to give Harry space to work out whatever it was he was going through, but today was a particularly annoying day.

Two years ago today was the day Harry had stumbled upon Draco drowning his busy work week in a glass or two of fire whiskey.

It was his first day off in weeks and since he had a very lonely home to go to, he decided to grace Hogsmeade with his presence, finding a nice corner table in the back of The Three Broomsticks. It was freezing outside, as winter is wont to do, but inside it was warmed by fireplaces and people branding about in good graces, laughing and jostling and just having a good time.

Draco was sitting by himself, downing his latest glass of the burning liquid, when the door swung open, clacking against the wall inside. Cold gusts of flurried wind blew indoors, granting the figure in the doorway a few mean glances and grumbled demands to shut the door.

Draco heard the man who entered laugh lightly, shutting the door behind him. He was covered in a cloak from head to toe but when he removed the hood, his unruly hair and striking eyes betrayed his semi-disguise. Those who had been sour to him before were now greeting him fondly, standing to show respect, reaching out hands to either shake his or pat him on the back.

Harry pushed through the tiny throng of pub-goers until he was sitting comfortably at the bar. Madam Rosmerta smiled and delighted that Harry was there. She was so delighted in fact that she spilled the entire contents of a couple of mugs of butterbeer straight onto Harry and his lap.

When Harry jolted, laughing and trying to help her clean up the mess, he’d managed to turn and see Draco sitting in the back corner staring straight back at him.

Draco wasn’t even aware this face could ever get that heated, but his cheeks flushed all the same as he quickly turned away. He could practically hear the pause Harry had taken but then he heard Harry exclaim to Madam Rosmerta that everything was fine and to not worry about it.

He thought he heard Harry take his seat back at the bar but then the chair next to him scraped loudly as it was drug back against the wooden floor. Draco jumped and spun to see Harry taking a seat in the chair he’d pulled out.

Draco wasn’t sure to what to do or say so he simply rolled his eyes and muttered, “You smell like you bathed in butterscotch.”

Harry snorted. “I practically did.” He commented, watching Draco try to look anywhere but at him. This was awkward and they both knew it. Neither had really said much to the other since parting ways at the end of the second wizarding war. Sure, Draco had been there to help Harry and the others with the restoration of Hogwarts but beyond that they hadn’t really come to terms with what had happened between them.

Draco had been pretty much forgiven for his indiscretions with the death eaters. Officially by the Ministry, in which he worked for now, he along with his mother and father had been pardoned. 

Unofficially, though people spared him of looks and whispers, granting him that they were knowledgeable in knowing that he wasn’t a bad person, Draco still felt the sting of everyone knowing that he’d done what he’d done and it would be a long while before he could be considered “good”.

Harry sat there smiling like an idiot, smelling of sweet candy, not really saying much. When Draco couldn’t get him to go away with the silent treatment, he passed the bottle of firewhiskey towards him. Harry took it without question and gestured for Madam Rosmerta to bring him a glass.

Draco thought he’d die from the silence. Though others around them were just as loud as before, the silence between them was deafening. After Harry received his glass and had downed a few good amounts of the drink, Draco cleared his throat. “So what is Mr. Potter doing at a pub at this time of night?”

“Malfoy, it’s only nine thirty.”

Draco stared at Harry for a moment before sighing and finishing up his own drink. “God I’m old.”

Harry laughed then and something inside Draco fluttered. He’d always enjoyed Harry’s laughter. “I’ve been helping Ron with the construction of his new house”

“I could have sworn the Burrow had already been rebuilt though.”

Passing the ever emptying bottle of firewhiskey back to Draco, Harry sat back in his chair. “Oh no it was, this was for Ron and Hermione’s home. They wanted to build one on the Weasley’s land. I’ve been helping out when I can and tonight we were de-gnoming the area where they are going to put the house.”

Draco tilted his head. “I didn’t take Granger for being the farmland type.”

Harry shrugged. “I’m not exactly there when they talk about their future together.”

Raising a brow, Draco scooted closer to the edge of his seat. “So what exactly do you do when you’re not part three of the ‘Golden Trio’?”

Harry looked down at his glass, now empty of firewhiskey. He shrugged again. “Not much really. Be alone a lot.”

Draco understood that, being alone. He’d got himself his first flat as soon as he’d found a job but he didn’t really spend that much time in it. He’d grown up with solitude as a best friend but lately he couldn’t stomach coming back to an empty place.

Draco wasn’t sure if it was him or the liquid courage from the firewhiskey but something inside bubbled to the surface and before he could stop himself, he cleared his throat. “If you ever need anyone to be alone with, you know, to-er uhm talk or listen to-” It was as if he was slowly progressing into a stammering child. His face flushed again but there was no turning back now. “I’m not doing much these days either.”

Harry looked up from his glass at Draco. It only took a moment of scanning Draco’s face for Harry to know that he was being genuine. Smiling and laughing his infectious laugh, Harry nodded. “Alright, thanks Malfoy."

* * *

Of course by now they had become familiar enough to be on a first name basis but that same awkward silence hung in the air between them now and it made Draco on edge as it always did.

“Harry?” He asked softly, trying his best not to snap from irritation.

Harry twitched at the call of his name but he didn’t look up from the paper he was reading. “Hm?” He half heartedly answered.

Draco shifted in his seat. “Can I ask you something?”

“Aren’t you doing that already?”

Trying to hold back his steadily rising anger, Draco cleared his voice again. “Are you getting tired of me or something?”

This made Harry look up from the paper. He stared across the table at Draco, his face nearly impossible to read. “No.”

Draco slammed his hands down on the table, standing abruptly. “Right well, then bye.”

He rounded the table to make his way towards the front door but Harry caught him by the arm. “Wait, wait Draco.”

Draco glared down at Harry, who now looked completely different then he had a moment before. Gone was the stoic look of none-too-surprised and replaced with a panicked look in his eyes. Draco was surely confused but he stayed and waited. For what he wasn’t sure, but he waited.

Harry made no move to stand. He turned in his chair, his hand sliding down from Draco’s arm to hold his hand. “Wait please, this- this wasn’t how it was suppose to go.”

For a split second, Draco’s heart skipped a beat. His skin became instantly clammy and cold as anxiety set in. Something in Harry’s voice sounded genuinely disheartened and worrisome. It sounded to Draco that Harry was gearing up to end their relationship. He wanted to run but his legs suddenly became too heavy to move. All he could do was stare down at the other and hope that he was wrong.

“Wha-”

“Draco.” Harry cut him off, “I have to say this now. I should have told you this earlier. I’m sorry.”

Draco’s entire body tensed, preparing himself for words he never wanted to hear Harry say. He could feel his walls rising within, building up to protect him once again. “So say it.” He didn’t want to hear it but at the same time, he needed to.

Harry slowly rose from his seat, his free hand reaching round to grab at something in his pants pocket. Draco was too busy staring at Harry’s eyes to notice much of anything, too distracted by what he thought was to come.

Harry kept ahold of Draco’s hand and even more slowly he began to lower himself onto his knee.

As if a light bulb clicked in his head, Draco’s anxiety switched from that of dreading fear to nervous flutters and while it took him a moment to realize what exactly was going on, he knew right away that he’d been wrong. He wasn’t going to admit that to Harry, but he could recognize it within himself all he wanted.

Draco watched in nervous silence as Harry slipped a simple band onto his finger and smiled up at him. He could see Harry was just as nervous, just as rattled and anxious as Draco was. It took him a moment to shake off the remaining feeling of loss before he could allow himself to feel true, confused joy. What trivial thing to fret over. Draco mentally kicked himself for ever thinking things could be that strained between the two.

“I-I was trying to hold on until tonight. I’m sorry if I seemed off, I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”

Draco continued to stare in stunned silence. The walls that were beginning to take their assigned seats crumbled away and left Draco open and vulnerable again. Tears began to spring to his eyes, the shock giving way to utter devotion, to utter happiness.

It had taken him so long to get to a place where he could openly feel this way. Harry and Draco had had their moments of foul moods and deep consternation, of depression and remission, over the years. Their moments of happiness and assurance of their place in the world however, outweighed the negativity any day.

“Draco, will you marry me?”

“Yes.”

Harry laughed and Draco’s heart fluttered.


End file.
